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Every household that doesn’t fill out the census form online, by mail, or by phone—known as “self-response”—enters the Census Bureau’s non-response follow-up (NRFU) universe. During NRFU, the Census Bureau sends trained enumerators door-to-door to collect census responses directly. This is an expensive and time-consuming process. NRFU was supposed to start in May 2020 but has been delayed due to COVID-19. The Census Bureau currently plans to begin NRFU operations in mid-August. To understand which communities…

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to remain physically distant from each other but has also created new opportunities for us to remain socially connected. Since UNC-Chapel Hill (UNC) closed its campus in mid-March, I (Alexis) have virtually collaborated with my colleagues in the Sociology Department and at the Carolina Population Center, participated in global dance parties on Instagram, laughed with friends on Google Hangout, and played pub-style trivia over Zoom. Each week, I look…

April 15 would normally mark Tax Day, the federal income filing deadline. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tax Day is now extended three months to July 15. Instead, as the U.S. ends its first month of widespread social distancing, many American households may receive their federal stimulus check this week. These stimulus checks – also known as Economic Impact Payments – will be as much as $1,200 per person, but not everyone will qualify. I…

How many farmworkers are in the United States? There are about 3 million farmworkers in the United States: about two million are family farmworkers and another one million are hired farmworkers. Do hired farmworkers count in the Census? If a farmworker is living in a community on April 1, 2020, and that is their usual residence, meaning that it is the place where they live and sleep most of the time, they should be counted…

The recent stay-at-home orders have caused Carolina Demography's under-5 staff population to grow substantially. Though our temporary new colleagues generally prefer crayons to Excel and chalk drawings to data analysis, they are willing and able to help with our ongoing Census work. Below are some activities we've tried with our kids that may also work in your house or neighborhood (if you're looking for civically-themed activities that hold toddlers' attention for a moderate amount of…

Census Day took place across the United States on Wednesday, April 1st. While it is not the deadline for filling out the Census – that’s currently August 14 – many states do see a bump in Census responses on April 1st – North Carolina included. Of the fifty states and Washington, DC, North Carolina had the twelfth-highest ­bump in response rates due to Census Day. Gaining 3.2 percentage points from April 1st to April 2nd,…

The coronavirus pandemic has already affected 2020 Census operations in a variety of ways. Earlier this month, the Census Bureau announced that it would delay the start of its field operations – hiring and training workers to go to households – for two weeks, until April 1. This post looks at response rates by type of enumeration area (how the Bureau planned to contact households and invite them to respond to the Census) to understand…

2020 Census counting officially began on January 21 with early data collection in remote Alaska and the first wave of mailings went out in early March. By law, the Census Bureau is required to deliver the count used for apportioning seats in the U.S. House of Representatives by December 31, 2020. That means that no matter what, the count must go on. The Bureau is now adjusting to the challenges of counting all Americans in…

When completing the 2020 Census, respondents are asked to report everyone living in their home on April 1, 2020 – this date is known as “Census Day.” What do we know about how the nation and North Carolina are responding? 2020 response rate lags the response in 2010 According to City University of New York’s (CUNY) Center for Urban Research, response to the 2020 Census lags rates observed in 2010. As of March 31, 2010,…